Broken Arrow City Council
Meeting of: 06-17-2019
Title:
title
Consideration, discussion and possible approval of Resolution No. 1250, a Resolution of the Broken Arrow City Council declaring an emergency as a result of a sanitary sewer trunk line break resulting in a collapsed junction manhole for the Broken Arrow Creek trunk sewer and the County Line trunk sewer east of South 177th East Ave and north of Jasper Street (131st Street); activation of the City’s Emergency Operation Protocols, including waiving state and local provisions pertaining to competitive bidding as allowed by law; authorizing an informal bidding process; authorizing the City Manager to execute emergency contracts as necessary for repairs and any subsequent critical events; providing for the termination and extension of the provisions of this resolution; and directing the City Manager to carry out all applicable provisions
End
Background:
On June 11th, 2019, representatives of the City’s Utilities Department were advised that a sinkhole approximately twenty feet (20’) in diameter had formed around a seventeen foot (17’) deep junction manhole that serves two intersecting sewer trunk lines, including a twenty-seven inch (27”) reinforced concrete pipe line and twenty-four inch (24”) sewer line east of south 177th East Avenue and north of Jasper Street (131st Street). This open sinkhole was reported to be approximately four hundred feet (400’) north of Jasper Street along Broken Arrow Creek.
City crews from the Departments of Utilities and Engineering and Construction Department were immediately dispatched to the area to investigate, where they found the seventeen foot (17’) junction manhole that provides access to both sewer trunk lines was broken just below the surface. Raw sewage had surcharged within 5’ of the surface area.
City crews excavated the sides of the sinkhole surrounding the manhole to stabilize the surrounding soil, removed the lid from the sanitary sewer manhole and secured the area. City crews discovered that the connecting pipe between the twenty-four inch (24”) sanitary sewer line and the seventeen foot (17’) deep junction manhole had collapsed, resulting in uncontained raw sewage discharging into the open sinkhole. While City crews did not observe sewage discharging into the nearby Broken Arrow Creek, it is anticipated that upcoming rains will result in unpermitted discharges of raw sewage into Broken Arrow Creek. As such, pumping equipment was placed onsite to facilitate if a sanitary sewer overflow situation should occur from the critically damaged junction manhole.
Specifically, City crews found that the lower section of the approximately seventeen feet (17’) deep manhole had collapsed along with the north section of the twenty-seven inch (27”) Reinforced Concrete Pipe on the County Line trunk sewer to approximately ten feet (10’) north of the manhole. Furthermore, it was discovered that the Broken Arrow Creek trunk sewer twenty-four inch (24”) sewer line had disconnected from the collapsed manhole and was flowing into the sinkhole. The current state of the junction manhole poses a significant risk to a sanitary sewer overflow due to an unknown stability of the lower manhole section still allowing current flow of the raw sewage waters.
Director of Utilities Charles Vokes determined the City does not have the necessary and appropriate equipment or experience to remove and replace the compromised manhole and repair associated sanitary sewer lines. This is because of the depths of the sanitary sewer manhole, compounded by the aspect that it is a junction manhole containing two (2) separate trunk line flows. Specifically, the amount of sewage flow through each of the trunk lines exceeds the City’s capacity to bypass the work area in order to safely access the sanitary sewer lines and to repair and replace the damaged sanitary sewer manhole. In addition, the City’s available excavators are not capable of reaching below the existing pipe, approximately twenty feet (20’) in depth, to effectuate the repair.
The Engineering and Construction department has contacted Belt Construction, Inc. to provide the necessary excavators, shoring boxes, bypass pumping, and the required materials and labor to effectuate the repair of the sewer trunk lines and manhole. The City of Broken has already acquired or will purchase the required bedding materials, concrete, and pipe to effectuate the repairs.
The City Manager recommends we immediately enter into a contract with Belt Construction, Inc. to provide the necessary excavators, shoring boxes, bypass pumping, and the required materials and labor to effectuate the repair of the sewer trunk lines and manhole.
The collapsed sewer trunk lines and manhole constitutes a natural emergency as defined in Section 9-1 of the Broken Arrow Code justifying adoption of a Resolution to such effect. Immediate attention is required to protect the public safety, public welfare and insure public safety.
In addition, this sewer trunk line failure constitutes a significant event as defined in the Oklahoma Emergency Management Act of 2003, and justifies declaration of an emergency and notification to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. During this period of declared emergency, it is necessary and prudent that the City Manager be able to take action and implement policies quickly and expeditiously in the best interest of the residents of the City of Broken Arrow. The procedures set forth in the Public Competitive Bidding Act codified in 61 O.S. § 101, et seq., and § 2-28 of the Broken Arrow Code will take in excess of sixty (60) days. It is estimated that the savings that would occur as a result of the competitive bidding process would not be sufficient to justify the potential danger to the safety of the public.
It is necessary that the City Manager be able to enter into contracts quickly and expeditiously during this time of declared emergency, in order to serve the residents of Broken Arrow. It is further necessary that during this period of declared emergency, it is necessary and prudent that the City Manager be able to take action quickly and expeditiously in the best interest of the residents of the City of Broken Arrow.
Cost: $165,200.00
Funding Source: Budgeted BAMA Capital Outlay
Requested By: Charles Vokes, Director of Streets and Stormwater
Approved By: City Manager’s Office
Attachments: Resolution No. 1250
Recommendation:
recommend
Approve Resolution No. 1250 and authorize its execution.
end